As an avid gamer and Xenoblade fan anticipating the next chapter in the series, one of the biggest questions I‘ve been asked by friends is: Should I play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first before jumping into the new storyline?
*[Image Source](https://unsplash.com)*
It‘s an understandable question for those overwhelmed by such a dense franchise—and my short answer is usually: No, you won‘t need to…but I highly recommend it!
Playing previous Xenoblade games unlocks insider lore and easter eggs enriching Xenoblade 3, while mastering their combat pays off with enhanced battle skills. Most importantly though, they‘re incredible RPGs stacked with 100+ hours of content definitely worth experiencing.
However, developers Monolith Soft have also confirmed total newcomers can fully enjoy the war story of Xenoblade 3 without prior context. Ultimately, the choice depends on your current experience level with long JRPGs.
So, should YOU play Xenoblade 2 based on your gaming background? Does prior series knowledge fundamentally improve Xenoblade 3? Let‘s analyze the key factors:
Is Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Required to Understand the Story?
Fortunately, following the storylines of past Xenoblade games is not required to comprehend Chronicles 3. Let‘s breakdown their narratives and connections:
Xenoblade Franchise Story Overview
The Xenoblade saga follows humanity‘s endless conflicts against the godlike Mechon army across the corpses of Mechonis and Bionis—two titanic gods frozen in time after mutually striking a fatal blow. It‘s a sprawling sci-fi fantasy epic exploring complex philosophical themes of purpose and humanity‘s place within a deterministic universe.
Despite these shared elements, each core series entry features totally distinct settings and casts…
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii, 2010) – Shulk seeks to avenge his village‘s destruction by the Mechon army, wielding the legendary Monado blade said to manipulate fate itself.
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U, 2015) – Humanity attempts colonizing the alien planet Mira after the Earth is decimated—only to find hostile natives and technological marvels hinting at a far larger galactic war.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch, 2017) – Rex bonds with the mythical Blade Pyra, discovering he‘s been thrust into a quest to reach the fabled paradise Elysium at the top of the World Tree before cataclysmic events destroy humanity.
A Standalone Story in Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Despite taking place in this same universe, Xenoblade producer Genki Yokota has directly confirmed Chronicles 3 features an entirely new premise and cast:
“It’s being designed so that new players can enjoy this entry on its own,” Yokota said. “I believe past fans will enjoy figuring out how it connects to the previous two games, but it’s not necessary to enjoy this one.” [Source]
Peeling back the layers of lore across games to reveal connections can ultimately enhance fan enjoyment. However, on a raw story level, none of that context is mandatory.
The game introduces six new protagonists led by Noah caught on opposing sides of the warring nations Keves and Agnus. Through the reveal trailer, we know mass violence compels Noah to embark on an epic quest after encountering a mysterious girl named Mio in a forest—but their exact journey remains heavily under wraps.
Xenoblade 3 shapes up to feature the most mature, heavy storyline yet in contrast to its predecessors—making it a perfect entry point for curious newcomers to dive into the series.
What Gameplay & World Changes Can Players Expect?
Beyond an entirely new standalone narrative, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 introduces sweeping gameplay innovations setting it further apart from previous franchise entries:
Distinct Historical Fantasy Setting – The nations of Keves and Agnus feature flavored character outfits and weapons creating a pseudo European middle ages war aesthetic unlike anything seen before.
“Ouroboros” Fusion – Party members can now merge into dual character forms with stacked abilities, essentially controlling a single ultra-powerful hero.
Agnus Classes – In addition to standard class upgrades, new “Agnus” enemy jobs allow wild gameplay shakeups with wholly unique skills and bonuses.
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7 Playable Characters – The expanded cast allows greater flexibility tailoring your team composition, with the extra member rotating in during battles if someone loses all HP.
"Camp” Mechanic – A mobile campsite hub enables natural downtime interactions between characters while replenishing health, cooking food for buffs, crafting gems, or upgrading equipment.
Refined Progression Elements – Fixed level discrepancies between party members helps reduce grind, while streamlined equipment upgrades and skill trees offer more flexibility without punishing experimentation.
This strong differentiation from past games helps reinforce Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as an inviting starting point for curious newcomers—while adding loads of new combat abilities and progression for returning fans to master as well.
What Connections & References Would Players Miss Without Xenoblade 2 Context?
Now, I‘ll fully admit up front: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is intentionally welcoming to new players lacking context from older games. Hopping directly into the latest chapter isn‘t confusing or fundamentally detrimental to enjoying its self-contained war story.
However, fans of the first two games may recognize subtle lore nods providing enhancements around the margins:
Returning Characters & Story Elements
Recurring franchise races like High Entia and Machina will likely appear alongside legacy characters that dedicated fans can mark out for.
For example, Nia from the original Xenoblade Chronicles has explicitly been shown as a Queen in Xenoblade 3‘s trailer. Her exact role remains undefined, but it undoubtedly carries more impact if you‘ve experienced her full arc.
Even iconic weapons and objects—like Shulk’s legendary Monado blade—might resurface given their reality-warping powers. Noticing these subtle callbacks ultimately accentuates the feeling of this fantasy world‘s cohesive interconnectedness.
*[Image Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/Xenoblade_Chronicles/)*
Post-Game Story Seeds
As a grand convergence of franchise plot threads, the post-game story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 may hint at broader future developments that past fans can better speculate on.
For example, the successive worlds of the first two games were revealed as originating from the same universe—so this third title might finalize answering questions on how they interweave. Understanding those lingering lore mysteries makes anticipating their resolution far more exciting.
Ultimately though, these connections just add richness layered atop a core narrative welcoming to all audiences.
Why Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 If You Don‘t Have To?
We‘ve firmly established by this point that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 won‘t strictly require knowledge from past series entries, given its purposeful accessibility for curious franchise newcomers. Even without prior context, they can fully enjoy its fresh war premise and characters.
But Xenoblade Chronicles 2 remains an incredible standalone RPG I can‘t recommend enough especially for players new to the franchise. Here‘s why you should play it regardless:
An Outstanding & Massive JRPG Adventure
Let‘s not mince words: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of the Nintendo Switch‘s most acclaimed exclusives, critically praised for its creative world, wealth of content, and fantastic characters. It‘s a meaty, moving game you can absolutely lose 100+ hours within.
It continues the series‘ grand sci-fi tradition rendering jaw-dropping fantasy vistas now on a portable platform. The sheer artistry and care infused into its alien biomes immerses you into believing you‘ve set foot somewhere that couldn‘t possibly exist—an irreplaceable sense of wonder.
*[Image Source](https://www.vg247.com)*
And once hooked by those landscapes, its content-rich structure recurs Brain Age handsomely on invested time through mountains of optional challenges and quests. Enhancing rare Blades, experiencing their unique stories, hunting superbosses ducked away off-path, unlocking hidden affinity charts—it‘s a completionist‘s dream game.
Compelling Characters Carrying the Torch
Beyond just environments and volume though, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 thrives on the charm and personality of crossing paths with so many distinct characters.
Rex epitomizes the bright-eyed, altruistic Shonen anime protagonist off on his first grand quest. Pyra/Mythra as the legendary Aegis capture a unique dichotic heroine personality blended into one. Stalwart allies like Nia, playful scoundrels like Zeke, tortured foes like Jin—everyone bursts with life from ambitious motives to regional dialects.
And crucially, witnessing their full arcs gives greater appreciation when successors like Noah carry similar personality torches forward into the next numbered chapter. Their individual dynamism makes Xenoblade‘s charisma endure.
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*[Image Source](https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/1/16723186/xenoblade-chronicles-2-review-switch-jrpgs-are-back)*
Satisfying, Strategic Combat
Besides its endearing faces though, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 delivers tremendously on keeping its real-time combat encounters engaging across countless hours as well.
It introduces deeper customization than ever before through Blades providing unique weapon choices and special attacks. Their synergy creates compelling risk/reward balancing whether to continue assaulting safely or timing that last second driver combo detonation.
Managing character placements to perfectly flank enemies for bonus backstab damage becomes second nature. Adapting tactics to counter aggressive foes that increase hostility against vulnerable healers keeps you alert. It‘s a fantastic battle system retaining the series‘ strategic legacy.
And importantly, mastering these systems pays incredible dividends transferring core skills forward into the refined version awaiting in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 next.
Valuable Familiarity With Core World & Gameplay Elements
On a mechanical level as well, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 shares various familiar RPG veins with its sequel that build helpful fundamentals for new players to lean on.
Navigating its massive open fantasy environments teaches useful traversal concepts like tracking collectibles, exploiting short cuts, and recognizing points of interest off the beaten trail. Xenoblade worlds reward thorough exploration.
Toppling towering monsters through timed combos passively hones the same skills for tackling even deadlier tyrants in the next adventure. Customizing loadouts to boost gem crafting rates early quickens the eventual process again later down the line. Their shared DNA gently builds expertise.
And its 56+ hour-campaign eases players into political machinations between alien civilizations and flashy combats with dimension-threatening titans—key franchise staples formulating Xenoblade 3 in the background as well.
In this sense, spending time familiarizing with earlier games in the series almost acts like digestible training leading into the next. And with hundreds of optional tasks to complete, it keeps your Switch occupied for months.
*[Image Source](https://www.businessinsider.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-review-great-japanese-role-playing-game-switch)*
Evaluating the Pros & Cons: Xenoblade Play Order Guide
Having now laid out key arguments both for and against playing previous Xenoblade series entries before the latest chapter, let‘s consolidate that perspective into straightforward play order recommendations based on player experience level:
For Total Franchise Newcomers
My suggestion for gamers who have never touched a Xenoblade title is to start right off with the fresh jump-on point of Xenoblade 3 first.
As outlined earlier, it features a standalone premise, refined and accessible gameplay, plus visual overhauls specifically intended to be inviting for curious new audiences. It‘s the perfect entry point into the acclaimed RPG franchise before backtracking.
However, once you complete the 30+ hour war story and become enthralled by its fantastical world, absolutely double back to then play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 next.
It will help explain subtle lore connections teased in the background of 3 and offers another 100+ hours of the satisfying real-time combat system with a warmer, more lighthearted tone. Think of it as the "prequel expansion" once hooked!
For Franchise Veterans
In contrast, my suggestion tilts firmly for Xenoblade veterans towards playing both earlier games first in order to fully appreciate subtle callbacks and speculating on potential connections with the grand finale.
Re-experiencing those past journeys refreshes useful combat instincts while potentially revealing cleverly buried foreshadowing hints along the margins the developers slipped in. It ultimately enhances theorycrafting entering this climax.
That said, waiting years longer to play the hot new Switch entry because you need to replay two lengthy RPGs beforehand is overkill, in my opinion. Ultimately this series tells focused, self-contained stories welcoming to all audiences.
So don‘t fret about skipping past games if too daunting a task—just dive into the incredible sequel awaiting this summer!
The Verdict: Playing Xenoblade 2 Remains Highly Recommended Despite Not Being Required
While I‘ll firmly reiterate Xenoblade Chronicles 3 features a brand new premise welcoming to curious franchise newcomers, I can‘t understate enough how highly recommended playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 remains regardless as a phenomenal standalone RPG.
Its passionate worldbuilding, lovable cast, mountainous post-game content, and polished combat represent dozens upon dozens of hours well spent. It also lays helpful fundamental building blocks for getting into the forthcoming sequel.
Yet at the end of the day, pushing through older Xenoblade games purely out of necessity before touching the new hotness risks generating fatigue, especially for genre newcomers unfamiliar with their scope.
Xenoblade 3 is intentionally accessible not strictly requiring past knowledge. So priority one remains having fun here!
I‘m thrilled to return to the worlds of Bionis and Mechonis once again—and maybe see them from exciting new dimensional angles as well. Wherever the story goes next, it no doubt culminates a saga over a decade in the making full of heart. What an incredible journey it continues being.
